Working in rugged mountains is challenging, especially if proper trails do not exist. Rangers do their best to patrol mountains, in order to deter poachers from entering and shooting animals. However, central parts of reserves have limited accessibility, and sometimes they become a refuge for poachers who stay there for several days of shooting. We spotted this problem during our ongoing camera trapping investigations in Tandoureh National Park.
In partnership with our local stakeholders, we developed a plan to define top priority trails to be constructed for better accessibility of rangers. Finally, two trails were identified to be suitable pathways, a total of 6 km long.
How did we make sure that trails are beneficial only to rangers not poachers? All trails are dead-end, meaning if someone tries to ride a motorbike into the park, rangers can easily stop him on his way back. In other words, rangers can always take control of the trails.
Since construction of the trails, visitation frequency by rangers has increased significantly, implying poachers are less active in the heart of the national park.